I woke-up Friday morning and dawdled at my sister's place for an hour or so — breakfast, a couple of games of sudoku, and then a shower — before hitting the road.
It was early, and the roads were pretty clear, heading out of town. Down to Primm, then up and over the mountains to Baker. It's a lovely drive with good roads, little traffic, and expansive views of the desert. I called a few friends to make-up for the radio that had been stolen when my car was broken into a while back… and I helped a business partner with some tech question or other.
A quick stop in Baker for a little breakfast, and then a quick stop in Victorville for gas and a car wash before descending down into Los Angeles. I was in Pasadena before I knew it — just 3.5 hours from Vegas. Another hour to cross town, and I was at the hotel.
It's strange for me to be in a hotel of any particular quality, as I've always preferred to stay in smaller one-off establishments and bed-and-breakfasts. I'm just sleeping there, so I can never justify paying for prestige or pampering. In Boston, I stay at the College Club. In DC, I stay at the Tabbard Inn. In NYC, I've stayed at the Y. Each place just a bed, a shower, and a friendly face at the front desk. I like it that way. But this place had a concierge, and complimentary drinks (I got orange juice) upon arriving.
Eh. I think I'll stick to small.
The big reason for flying out from Los Angeles instead of Salt Lake, was the wedding of an old friend and roommate… I couldn't make his wedding because it would have meant leaving for London way too late, but I could make it for his bachelor party. So I did.
It was great... he, and I, and five or six of his closest friends all descended on Medieval Times for an evening of Campbell's soup, chicken, knights, horses, and lots and lots of laughter. Even with the cost of entry set at the astonishingly high $50 per person, the evening was a complete success… and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
We're all Mormons, so the evening ended at a respectable hour, and I was dropped at the hotel with hugs and promises of seeing each other again, soon.
Next stop: The Airport!
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Photos from this leg of the trip can be found at my flickr account... starting with this photo I took of three of us at Medieval Times.
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